Last Post of the Year

I've given a lot of thought to this blog and the possibility of saying anything meaningful about the state of things real estate/mortgage. It will quickly become apparent that the amount of thought has had almost no impact on the content. The media has enjoyed the daily announcements of savior plans for rescuing troubled mortgage borrowers. almost breathlessly reporting on the details they don't understand, details which say much. promise little, and will do nothing. Countrywide leads the pack in cupidity, and their CEO is still not in jail. But these things take time. It is apparently more difficult to recognize larceny on a grand scale than to spot some guy hotfooting it out of the 7-11 with a stolen six pack under his arm. There is a constant linking of the current level of foreclosures with the resetting of sub-prime teaser loans, while in fact most of those loans have not yet begun resetting. The foreclosures taking place are by people who quite simply should never have been granted financing, or multiple foreclosures by "investors" who bought with the expectation of flipping for a profit and got caught. The government really has no business making any type of concessions with our money in a search for a resolution of this problem, and even less business in messing with the integrity of the contracts which created an obligation on the one hand and an expectation on the other. Any tampering in this area will forevermore call into question the advisability of entering into contractual agreements by any lender foreign or domestic. Words like ex post facto come to mind. Enough of this I expect.
Thinking about politics and politicians can put a person off their feed for the all important season of ignoring caloric needs in favor of indulging shamelessly in the bounty of gastronomic wonders of the holiday table. Anyway...From the time we were tiny we have been conditioned to view our surroundings with wonder and delight at this time of the year, and to embrace fondly all those around us. It is a time for optimism and hope and we hope you will allow us to share in that with you. If we can sustain a regard for each other and a concern for the welfare of others, we'll get over the small bumps OK.
Have a very Merry Christmas.